Kerala State Legal Services Authority moves HC for setting up anti-ragging monitoring panels

KELSA files PIL for anti-ragging committees in Kerala, emphasizing accountability, legal compliance, and victim support services.

The Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) has moved a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Kerala High Court seeking directions to establish State and district-level anti-ragging monitoring committees.

The initiative comes in the wake of recent reports of ragging in a government nursing college in Kottayam and the death of a Class 10 student in Kozhikode following a fight between students. The police have arrested five students each in the two cases.

The victim succumbed to a head injury, which was allegedly inflicted by nunchaku, a weapon used in martial arts, which consists of two sticks, connected at their ends by a short metal chain.

The petition pointed out that the failure of the State government to take concrete steps to constitute a structured monitoring system, despite the directives from the High Court.

The monitoring system shall comprise representatives from the government, legal service institutions, and civil society, including teachers and parents. These committees shall oversee the implementation of anti-ragging guidelines, regulations, and judicial decisions while ensuring strict compliance by educational institutions. A court directive to educational institutions and government departments concerned to submit regular progress reports to the monitoring committees would bring in an accountability framework required for the effective implementation of anti-ragging laws, according to the authority.

Institutional mechanisms such as grievance redressal cells shall be set up in all the educational institutions. These cells shall enforce court decisions and relevant regulations while ensuring administrative heads are held accountable for compliance. The government shall initiate public awareness campaigns on anti-ragging guidelines and legal frameworks to ensure societal participation in prevention efforts, according to KELSA, which is represented by its counsel Parvathy Menon.

KELSA, with its 14 district units and 62 taluk legal services committees, possesses the necessary infrastructure and expertise to support the proposed monitoring system. These units have significant outreach mechanisms for community engagement and legal awareness, making them capable of ensuring the effective enforcement of anti-ragging measures at the grassroots level. The panel lawyers and paralegal volunteers affiliated with these institutions can be mobilised to provide immediate legal assistance to victims and to participate in monitoring squads tasked with the prompt reporting of ragging incidents. The Victim Rights Centre shall offer holistic support services, including legal, emotional, and psychological assistance, ensuring a victim-centric approach to combating ragging, according to the authority.